Molecular Mechanisms of UVA-Induced Melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma is a deadly skin cancer, resulting from malignant transformation of melanocytes. Long-wave ultraviolet radiation (315-400 nm) is able to damage DNA, cause mutations, and induce melanoma. However, the exact mechanisms of UVA-induced cutaneous melanoma remain a matter of debate. In this review, we give a brief characterization of the most important elements in the photobiology of UVA in melanomagenesis.

Fluorescence photobleaching of ALA and ALA-heptyl ester induced protoporphyrin IX during photodynamic therapy of normal hairless mouse skin: a comparison of two light sources and different illumination schemes.

This study investigated photobleaching of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) induced by 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and ALA-heptyl ester during superficial photodynamic therapy (PDT) in normal skin of the female BALB/c-nu/nu athymic mouse. We examined the effects of two light sources (laser and broadband lamp) and two different illumination schemes (fractionated light and continuous irradiation) on the kinetics of photobleaching. Our results show that light exposure (0-30 minutes, 10 mW/cm2) of wavelengths of approximately 420 nm (blue light) and 635 nm (red light) induced time-dependent PpIX photobleaching for mouse skin of 2% ALA and ALA-heptyl ester. Blue light (10 mW/cm2) caused more rapid PpIX photobleaching than did red light (100 mW/cm2), which is attributed to stronger absorption at 407 nm than at 632 nm for PpIX. In the case of light fractionation, fractionated light induced faster photobleaching compared with continuous light exposure after topical application of 2% ALA and ALA-heptyl ester in vivo. These have been suggested to allow reoxygenation of the irradiated tissue, with a consequent enhancement of singlet oxygen production in the second and subsequent fractions.

A comparison of 5-aminolaevulinic acid- and its heptyl ester: dark cytotoxicity and protoporphyrin IX synthesis in human adenocarcinoma WiDr cells and in athymic nude mice healthy skin.

5-aminolevulinic acid heptyl ester was investigated in human adenocarcinoma WiDr cells and in healthy skin of athymic nude mice in comparison with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Incubation of WiDr cells with ALA and ALA heptyl ester resulted in production of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). Concentrations higher than 0.01 mm of ALA heptyl ester and higher than 1 mm of ALA were cytotoxic. The dark cytotoxicity was not related to PpIX. Intracellular localization, photocytoxicity and photobleaching rate of PpIX were the same for both drugs, although a 100 times lower concentration of ALA heptyl ester (0.01 mm) was needed in comparison with ALA (1 mm) to induce the same level of PpIX. ALA heptyl ester, topically (but not systemically) applied, is a promising candidate for fluorescence diagnosis and photodynamic therapy. Special attention must be focused on the concentrations of ALA heptyl ester; as excess may lead to cytotoxicity and inefficient PpIX generation.